Remote control system for opening and closing overhead-opening multipaneled doors



A ril 22, 1969 Filed May 17 R. J. MARTINI REMOTE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR OPENING AND CLOSING OVERHEAD-OPENING MULTIPANELED DOORS Sheet I lyre/V76 8 April 22, 1969 R. J. MARTINI 3,439,728

REMOTE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR OPENING AND CLOSING- OVERHEAD'OPENING MULTIPANELED DOORS 2 Sheet of 2 Filed May 17, 1967 flag United States Patent 3,439,728 REMOTE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR OPENING AND CLOSING OVERHEAD-OPENING MULTI- PANELED DOORS Robert J. Martini, 216 Oakdene Road, Barrington, Ill. 60010 Filed May 17, 1967, Ser. No. 639,085 Int. Cl. E05f 11/54, 13/00; E05d 15/24 US. Cl. 160-193 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A system for opening and closing vertically movable, counterbalanced, multipaneled doors, such as garage doors. A cable, extending from a remote location, is connected to the door in a manner so that a pull on the cable will provide an initial lifting force to cause the door to be raised to its opened position, and a second pull on the same cable will provide the necessary force to cause the door to be returned to its closed position.

This invention relates to a system for permitting a vertically movable, counterbalanced, multipaneled door to be opened and closed from a remote location. Although the illustrative embodiments concern a remote control system for garage doors, it is to be understood that the present invention is useful in connection with other types of vertically movable, counterbalanced, multipaneled doors.

Disadvantages of prior on There are numerous remote control systems for opening and closing garage doors on the market today. One type of system that has gained widespread use is the radio-controlled system, with which the operator can actuate a switch in his automobile approaching the garage to effect opening of the garage door by means of an electrical motor drive. Because of the electrical motor and various electronic elements which are concomitant to such a system, the radio-controlled system is relatively expensive to purchase and to install.

A less expensive type of remote control system is one in which the operator can manually pull cables to effect the opening and/or closing of the garage door. Many prior art manual remote control systems require the use of two or more cables in order to provide an effective mechanism for opening and closing the garage door. For example, United States Patent No. 2,012,336 discloses this type of system.

Other remote control systems require that the garage door be formed of a large, single panel and have a large spring connected to the inside of the door, whereby actuation of the spring by the operator will cause the garage door to swing from its closed to its open position. This type of system is disclosed in United States Patent No. 2,931,643. With this latter type of remote control system, it is generally necessary to purchase the garage door and its associated remote control system at one time. Another disadvantage is that as the garage door is being opened, a portion of the door will swing out toward the approaching automobile.

Advantages of this invention It has been found that a vertically movable, multipaneled garage door is generally advantageous, because it has the ability to slide along tracks which are secured to the door structure, and no portion of the door can swing outside of the structure as with the single panel type of garage door. Attempts have been made to provide a remote control system for use in connection with multi- 'ice paneled garage doors, but such systems have been relatively complex and often require two or more cables to be pulled by the operator.

The present invention obviates the difficulties of prior art remote control systems, and can be used with existing vertically movable multipaneled garage doors. The invention is useful in connection with a door structure having a door opening, a pair of tracks secured to the door structure at opposite sides of the door opening, and a vertically movable door which comprises a series of horizontally-disposed hinged panels. The tracks in this type of door arrangement extend in a vertical direction from their lowermost position, and then curve away from the vertical and continue in a generally horizontal direction. The door is slidable relative to the tracks and a plurality of rollers connect the door to the tracks.

The type of door arrangement with which the present invention is useful further includes a counter-balancing system for providing a force to cause the door to slide along the horizontal portion of the tracks, after an initial lifting force on the door is provided while the door is in its closed position.

Summary of the invention In the present invention, a remote control system is provided for transmitting the initial lifting force to the door from a remote location, and for transmitting from the remote location a force causing the door to slide from its open position back to its closed position. The system of the invention comprises a cable connected to the door and extending upwardly from the door to approximately the top of the door opening. First pulley means are provided for supporting the cable at approximately the top of the door opening, and the cable extends from the first pulley means to the remote location. Second pulley means are provided at the remote location for supporting the cable, and a handle is connected to the cable for grasping by an operator.

The cable is effectively connected to the door at a horizontal level within about the central 40 percent of the door. In this manner, when the door is in its closed position, a pull on the handle will provide the initial lifting force to cause the door to be raised to its open position. When the door is raised to its open position, the handle will return to approximately the same location as it was in when the door was in its closed position, thereby enabling the operator to again pull on the same handle to provide the necessary force to cause the door to be returned to its closed position.

In the illustrated embodiments of the invention, the multipaneled door with which the remote control system is used includes a device for retaining the door in its closed position. Means are connected to the cable for disengaging the retaining device, and the disengaging means are adapted for actuation when the door is closed and the handle is pulled by the operator.

A more detailed explanation of the invention is provided in the following description and claims, and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a remote control system in accordance with the principles of the present invention, connected to the door of a garage;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation thereof, with the garage door mechanism shown in section;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the lower left hand portion of a garage door, showing the connections of the remote control system thereto;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of the inside of a garage door, showing the connections of the remote control system thereto;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional elevation showing a release rod in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of a damping member along the horizontal extension of a garage door track, in accordance with the principles of the present invention; and

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional side elevation of a modified remote control system in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

An overhead remote control system, as viewed from the outside of a garage 10, is illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2. The remote control system generally includes a cable 12 connected at one end 14 to the garage door 16. The other end portion 18 of the cable 12, which has a handle 22 fastened thereto, is connected to an upstanding post 20 fixed in the ground. Handle 22 is weighted so that the cable will be maintained in a taut condition.

The garage with which the remote control system is used defines a garage door opening 24 and has a pair of tracks 26 secured to the garage frame at opposite sides of the door opening 24. As illustrated in FIG- URE 2, each of the tracks 26 extends in a vertical direction from its lowermost portion 28, then curves away from the vertical at 29 and the portion 30 of each of the tracks 26 continues in a generally horizontal direction. The garage door 16 is of the vertically movable type and comprises four horizontally disposed hinged panels 16a, 16b, 16c and 16d. A series of rollers 32 are connected to the rear side of the garage door 16, and the rollers 32 engage the tracks 30 to define a path of movement for the garage door 16. This type of garage door is sold by Quincy Manufacturing Co. of Tiffin, Ohio and by Barber-Colman Company, of Rockford, 111., among others. This conventional type of garage door system is disclosed in the United States Patents Nos. 2,093,020 and 2,702,802.

As is conventional, the garage door system is provided with a load pulley 34 and a spring pulley 36, about which a cable 38 extends. One end of the cable 38 is connected to the bottom of the door 16, and the cable extends around the pulleys 34 and 36, and is anchored to the garage at 40. A counterbalancing spring 42 is connected between the spring pulley 36 and a bracket 44, which bracket is secured to the garage.

With reference to FIGURE 4, the garage further includes a lock assembly 48, conventionally positioned intermediate the opposite sides of the garage door. A pair of lock rods 49 extend from the lock assembly 48 to the opposite sides 50 of the garage door. The lock rods can be engaged and disengaged with a receiving device 52 in the garage frame by suitable manipulation of the locking handle 54. conventionally, the handle 54 is spring biased so that when the garage door is in its closed, down position, the lock rods 49 engage receiving members 52 to cause an automatic looking or retaining action. To open the garage door, the handle 54 must first be turned by the operator to disengage the lock rods 49 from the receiving members. In many garage doors, a handle locking device 56 is provided, which prevents the handle 54 from turning unless the locking device 56 is disengaged, by a key or other suitable disengaging means.

In order to connect the cable 12 to the garage door, a release rod 60 and an eye-bolt 62 are provided. With reference to FIGURES 2 and 3, it is seen that the eyebolt 62 is affixed to the garage door at a level that is approximately one-half the distance between the bottom and top of the garage door. To operate properly, it is important that the eye-bolt 62 be connected at a horizontal level within about the central 40 percent of the garage door. As seen in FIGURE 5, the release rod 60 extends through the garage door and includes arms 64 and 65, which are parallel to each other, and intermediate portion 66 which is journaled within an opening 68 defined by the garage door. Suitable washers 70 and screws 72 provide an effective connecting means and bearing surfaces for the release rod, which is rotatable about the axis of intermediate portion 66.

One end 14 of the cable 12 is fastened within groove 74 near the end of the release rod arm 64. The cable 12 then extends upwardly through eye-bolt 62, and is supported by a pulley 76 connected to the garage door structure and a pulley 78 connected to the post 20.

Referring to FIGURE 4, it is seen that a cable 80 is connected at one end 81 within a groove 82 of release rod arm 65, and at the other end 84 to a disc 86 which is keyed to the shaft of locking handle 54. Rotation of arm 65 in the clockwise direction (with respect to FIGURE 4) causes the disc 86 to rotate in the counter-clockwise direction, thereby unlatching the lock rods 49.

In the operation of the remote control system, when the garage door is in its closed position and an operator exerts a downward pull on the handle 22, the arm 60 (FIGURE 3) will rotate in the clockwise direction until it engages the bolt 62. Rotation of the arm 60 will provide rotation of the arm 65 to cause the lock rods 49 to become disengaged from the receiving members 52. As the handle 22 is pulled downwardly, an initial lifting force will be provided on the garage door to cause it to move upwardly. After the garage door has begun to move upwardly, the counterbalancing spring 42 will provide an additional force to urge the door along the horizontal portions 30 of tracks 26.

As a result of the unique connection of the cable 12 to the garage door, when the garage door has moved to its open position and the rollers 32 are engaging horizontal portions 30 of the tracks, the handle 22 will again be lo cated at the same location as it was in when the door was closed. Although the operator had pulled the handle downwardly to provide the initial lifting force for the door, when the counterbalancing spring 42 provided the additional force to move the door along the horizontal portions of the tracks 26, the handle 22 moved upwardly to its original position. Hence, when the automobile is driven out of the garage and the operator wishes to close the garage door, a pull on the handle 22 will permit the garage door to slide back down to its closed position. It is seen that the garage door can be opened and closed by the use of a single remote control cable, and the handle which is pulled by the operator remains located at a predetermined height, whether the garage door is open or closed.

Some garage doors move too rapidly along the horizon tal portions 30 of the tracks and might bounce back down due to the action of spring 42. In order to prevent such rebound, a damping member 90 is provided (see FIGURE 6). The damping member 90 includes a resilient material 92, such as sponge rubber, embraced against the top edge 94 of each of the horizontal portions 30 of tracks 26. A suitable cover 94, preferably formed of rubber, is fastened to the top side 96, for holding the resilient material 92 in place. By using damping members 90, the rollers 32 will be slowed down as they engage the cover member 94, thereby preventing rebound of the door due to excessive speed of the door.

A modified remote control system is illustrated in FIGURE 7. The system in FIGURE 7 permits the cable to extend at ground level, or below the ground, so that the cable cannot readily be seen. The system of FIGURE 7 operates similarly to the previously described remote control system, and is connected to the garage door in exactly the same manner. However, from the end 14 of the cable 12, the cable extends upwardly and is supported by a pair of pulleys and 101. A central, weighted pulley 102 is utilized to keep the cable taut, particularly when the garage door is opened from the inside of the garage.

The cable 12 extends around a pulley 104 which is positioned adjacent the bottom of the garage door, and the cable 12 continues at ground level to another pulley 106, and then upwardly as shown in FIGURE 7. A handle 108 is fastened to the end of cable 12, and handle 108 may be pulled upwardly (as shown in dotted lines) to provide the initial lifting force on the garage door.

The handle 108, when the door is in its closed or open position, is located at the top of the pulley 106 enclosure and adjacent a pipe 107, to which the pulley enclosure is connected. When the garage door is closed and the handle 108 is lifted to provide an initial lifting force on the garage door, once the counterbalancing spring 42 takes effect and the rollers 32 slide along the horizontal portions 30 of the tracks 26, the handle 108 will retract to its position directly adjacent the pulley enclosure and pipe 107. Again, it is seen that a single cable is utilized to open and close the garage door, and the handle pulled by the operator to provide the force for either opening or closing the door will remain in the same location, notwithstanding the position of the garage door.

A novel system has been provided for opening and closing vertically movable, counterbalanced, multi-paneled doors, such as garage doors. It is seen that the system of the present invention requires only a single cable which is simply connected to the garage door at an intermediate portion thereof. It is to be understood, however, that some multipaneled garage doors are difiicult to handle and have characteristics which do not permit the use of the remote control system of the present invention.

Although two illustrative embodiments have been shown and described, modifications and substitutions may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the novel scope and spirit of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. For use in combination with a door structure having a door opening, a pair of tracks secured to the door structure at opposite sides of the door opening, said tracks extending in a vertical direction from their lowermost portion, then curving away from the vertical and continuing in a generally horizontal direction, a vertically movable door comprising a series of horizontally disposed hinged panels, said door being slidable relative to said tracks, a plurality of rollers connecting aid door to said tracks, counterbalancing means for providing a force to cause said door to slide along the horizontal portion of the tracks when an initial lifting force on the door is provided while the door is in its closed, down position: the improvement which comprises a remote control system for transmitting said initial lifting force from a remote location and for transmitting from said remote location a force causing said door to slide from its upward, open position back to its closed, down position, said system comprising a cable connected to said door, said cable extending upwardly from said door to approximately the top of said door opening, first pulley means for supporting said cable at approximately said top of said door opening, said cable extending from said first pulley means to said remote location, second pulley means at said remote location for supporting said cable, and a handle connected to said cable for grasping by an operator, said cable being effectively connected to said door at a horizontal level within about the central 40 percent of said door, whereby when said door is in its closed position, a pull on said handle will provide said initial lifting force to cause sad door to be rased to its open position, and when said door is raised to its open position, said handle will return to approximately the same location as it was in when said door was in its closed position, enabling the operator to again pull on said handle to provide the necessary force to cause said door to be returned to its closed, down position.

2. A remote control system as described in claim 1, said cable extending horizontally from said first pulley means to a post at said remote location, said second pulley means being connected to said post.

3. A remote control system as described in claim 1, said cable extending downwardly from said first pulley means, third pulley means positioned at the level of the bottom of said door, said cable being supported by said third pulley means and extending from said third pulley means to said remote location.

4. A remote control system as described in claim 3, including means for keeping said cable taut during opening and closing of said door.

5. A remote control system as described in claim 1, including means for retaining said door in its closed position, means connected to said cable for disengaging said retaining means, said disengaging means being adapted for actuation when said door is closed and said handle is pulled by the operator.

6. A remote control system as described in claim 5, wherein said disengaging means comprises a member rotatably connected to said door, said cable being connected to said rotatable member, a second cable connected to said rotatable member and extending from said rotatable member to said retaining means to control actuation of said retaining means.

7. A remote control system as described in claim 6, including means connected to the door for limiting the rotation of said rotatable member.

8. A remote control system as described in claim 1, including resilient means connected to said tracks for slowing the movement of the door from its closed to its open position.

9. A remote control system as described in claim 1, wherein said cable is eflectively connected to said door at approximately a level that is one-half the distance between the bottom and top of said door.

10. A remote control system as described in claim 2, including means for keeping said cable taut during opening and closing of said door.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,48 6,742 3/ 1924 Hagan -189 1,520,177 12/ 1924 Dickason 49-200 1,946,970 2/ 1934 Grandgent 49-200 2,012,336 8/1935 Blodgett 160-191 X 2,225,785 12/ 1940 Krocker 49-200 2,577,348 12/ 1951 McLaughlin 49-200 2,846,254 8/1958 'Forest 160-201 2,931,643 4/ 1960 Matherne 49-200 DENNIS L. TAYLOR, Primary Examiner.

. US. Cl. X.R. 160-201 

